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New Verizon Data Plan Policy - Is it a necessary evil?
Consumers and salespeople alike are frustrated by the new policy that requires a data plan of $9.99 or higher on more and more cell phones, so if you're looking to upgrade, be wary and read that fine print before signing for a new two year commitment.
If you take a moment to see how the wireless industry has evolved over the years, it really does make sense to ask customers who use multimedia phones and smartphones to have a data plan, not only to prevent expensive calls into customer care, but to protect consumers and give them the services they're using anyway with no surprises.
When I started in the cell phone industry close to 20 years ago, there was only one plan: per minute use, which for most folks meant that you paid .54 cents a minute for your cell phone service. People weren't hugely frustrated with the amount per minute, they were actually more concerned with controlling those costs month over month, which lead to the development of price plans that included a bucket of minutes. Over the years, this has not only proven true for voice minutes, but for text messaging and now data charges: People want predictability when it comes to their cell phone bills.
This consumer driven philosophy has now bled into Verizon Wireless' data plans, forcing consumers to think more about their cell phone choices before they upgrade into a new cell phone. Besides, with email and social networking becoming more and more common, people can actually make use of these service, and Verizon is beefing up their basic device lineup to coincide with consumer demand, with the launch of the LG Cosmos this week.
I imagine with this focus on non verbal communication, you'll start seeing family data plans rolled up like text messaging - AT&T already offers a reduction in cost for families purchasing their data plans on all lines.
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